Exploration Team Nikori
by xxMongoose
Summary: She wanted to change the future. He wanted to make new discoveries of the past and get over his fears. When they're put together, both goals might be accomplished. SPOILERS FOR EXPLORERS OF TIME/DARKNESS.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE: ENTER NICOLE WARREN**

The future was not as it should be. Nothing was the same. The land was bare, desolate, gray and dead. Boulders were suspended in mid-air. Night did not fall, nor did day come. The seasons never changed. No wind blew, no water ran. Everything was just… cold and silent and evil.

All this.. And yet, nobody rebelled? Nobody tried to fight back and fix this? Primal dialga was possibly the worst, strongest, most evil being there ever had been, holding their world in this horrible state. Some feared his strength. Others feared his followers. And even a few thought that he was _good. _They claimed that he was just doing this because he was trying to protect them.

Liars and fools.

It angered her, honestly. How they could be so stupid, so fearful?! There was no point living in this world. It was torture. Certainly, trying to stop this was dangerous. But if there was no point in living, what did it mater if you lost your life? If you didn't, or even did you might manage to make things better - at least for those who survived.

Nicole had had enough of this. She was being a hypocrite, thinking about how others were cowards and liars and sitting there, doing the same thing they were day after day, putting up with this. She was going to change things. Or at least, try.

Her best friend, luckily, felt the same way. Nikki didn't know what she would do without Grovyle. Their friendship was, admittedly, somewhat strange. A human and a pokemon never tended to get that close. But they shared the same ideas, and had become friends years ago because of this. And now they were going to make things right.

Their plan was dangerous. And… if they succeeded, made the future better… Nikki knew, and so did Grovyle, that they wouldn't get to see the world they had corrected. It was a sacrifice, though, that had to be made. They had already started their journey, figured out what had to be done, and now it was finally time to-

"Nicole?" The voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Her green eyes traveled to the owner of the voice, and a small, forced smile came over her freckled face. "We should probably get going," Grovyle continued. "We're likely getting either watched or followed, maybe both. We can't waste any time."

"Yeah." Nikki sighed in agreement, running a hand through red hair, its length the result of not getting cut in most likely her whole life. "You're right, Grovyle. We should get going." She nodded slightly for him to lead the way, and he did so. Years of practice let her move nearly as fast as the speedy pokemon, and she kept up with only slight difficulties.

Finally they reached their destination, and the teen couldn't help but swallow. Celebi had already opened the portal, and it looked… scary as hell. Yet… It was colorful. The sight was amazing, and she wondered whether, if they succeeded, the rest of the world would look that way instead of this morbid, dreary gray. Closing her eyes, she shook her head slightly, listening to the voices of Grovyle and Celebi without really paying attention to what they were saying. She already knew what they had to do, and besides, the two seemed to be almost flirting. She allowed herself to smirk slightly.

"Nikki~!" Her eyes opened again and she gasped, leaping back slightly. Celebi apparently had stopped flirting with Grovyle while she wasn't paying attention, and was now RIGHT in her face, grinning slightly. "You ready to go? You're acting kinda strange." She stated.

Nicole shook her head again. "No, I'm ready. I'm just a little nervous." She stated. A little? That was far from how Nikki felt. If they didn't do this right, they wouldn't save the future, they'd get caught, they'd get tortured and killed. If they did do this right, they'd… vanish. Neither sounded very great.

But she had already said these things were okay with her. And besides, two lives were nothing compared to the world.

"Don't worry." Grovyle said, and Nicole smiled slightly once more, nodding and wondering how the hell she could not worry as she walked over to stand next to him near the portal. She frowned, stiffening, looking around. What was that sound? Any sound, to be honest, wasn't good in a normally silent world. Grovyle and Nicole exchanged glances before turning back towards the portal, clasping hands. Nikki swallowed, closing her eyes tightly, and the two leapt into the vortex of colors and hope.

Nicole felt her stomach lurch dangerously. They were being pulled quickly through the portal, so quickly it made her dizzy, despite her closed eyes. She gasped, opening her eyes again, as now the portal was pitch black, bright lights and loud sounds crashing constantly, and her and Grovyle were getting thrown around harshly.

"Woah! Wo-wo-woah…!"

"Are… Are you okay?! No! Don't let go! Just a little longer…Come on! Hang on!"

"N-n-no! I can't… hold on…!"

"Waaaaah!"


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO: ENTER MIDORI NASH**

It was starting to get late, afternoon slipping to evening as the sun slipped lower in the sky, which was turning into a bright painting of oranges and pinks. After the storm yesterday, the sky was clear except for a few small clouds the colors making a rather more beautiful site than normally. Due to the time of day, Treasure Town was quieting down, shops slowly closing as pokemon went back to their homes, and the exploration teams mostly were already all back at Wigglytuff's Guild. The only ones still out would be those finishing up a long day.

Wigglytuff's Guild… it stood as intimidating as ever, on one of the two cliffs in the area. Overlooking the sea, the building was the shape of it's amazing guild master, two torches standing behind wooden poles carved like pokemon. The torches were lit every night, as soon as the sun had gone all the way down, first few stars of the night starting to illuminate the dull sky. Midori knew this, as he had been here almost every night, most of the times lurking in the shadows as to not be seen by the loudred who lit them.

And now it was almost dark, and he had been standing there since around noon, pacing on occasion, pretending to leave when seen by guild members, and trying to get the courage to go inside. However, that grate on in front of the door looked rather intimidating. Although Midori had tended to stalk the guild, he'd never been able to see what happened when you stood on it. The guild members passed it with no notice, and he must have horrible timing, because he'd never seen anyone else approach the guild. The metal of the grate looked cold. He imagined finally standing on it only for it to open under his feet and leave him falling into the blackness below and barely stopped himself from shuddering.

Reaching into a small cloth pouch the Treecko wore around his neck and draped around his arm like a purse, he shifted around for something for a moment. His face lit up as he found it, and he drew his hand back out, now clasping loosely a peculiar stone. Its rugged edges made it clear it had once been a part of something else (a cave wall? An interesting trap door?), and the unique marking that sat on its light, smooth surface was the only thing that made the pokemon think it was odd. It had a weird marking engraved into it, one like Midori had never seen before. He traced it thoughtfully. Perhaps it had originally been part of a puzzle or a trick, or perhaps it was just shaped by weathering…

He had found this object many years ago. So long, in fact, he didn't even remember how he had found it. He figured he just picked it up somewhere and decided to keep it. He did, however, remember how it began his goal. He wanted to find out where it came from. And to work his way up to there, he had decided brilliantly, he would join up with Wigglytuff's guild to be part of an exploration team.

But Midori was the most timid pokemon around. Going to the guild every day for roughly three years now, he had never even been able to bring himself to step on the grate. It was a simple task, too. Just move your legs and stand… But anyway he thought- if he did, what if it was a trap? Would he be able to get through the training? And who would want to be in a team with HIM? Weak, cowardly, useless Midori…

Swallowing, he looked at the stone for another moment. His stone, his good luck charm. He had to be brave. This was his first step in making great discoveries, solving his stone's - or, as he called it, the Relic Fragments mystery, and overcoming his bravery. Closing his eyes, he stepped on the grate. He nodded firmly to himself, but then swallowed again and close his eyes. The Treecko hesitated before slowly stepping forward, onto the grate. His breath held, he waited to tumble into blackness, to get mauled by the Guildmaster, or-

"POKEMON DETECTED! POKEMON DETECTED!"

"WHOSE FOOTPRINT? WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

Midori nearly screamed, but managed to bite his tongue and yelp instead as he leapt off the grate, accidentally tossing the Relic Fragment a few feet away in the process. Scurrying over to the stone, he grasped it, then ran full speed towards the beach.

The sun slowly sunk lower into the sky, illuminating the sky with brilliant oranges, pinks, and purples as it wished the world good night. Back at the Guild, Loudred was lighting the torches as the explorers got ready for dinner. A gentle wind blew, making it slightly cold despite the fact that it was summer, which could probably be expected after the storm. The waves on the beach slowed themselves in and out, causing both a calming motion and sound that could cause anyone to forget about their troubles, supposing they were willing to do so. Midori, at the moment, was not, even though the beach was beautiful and relaxing. He gasped for breath, cool air filling his lungs, and collapsed into the still-warm sand. Waves lapped at his toes and he sighed.

That… Hadn't gone well. His heart was still pounding in his chest and he was out of breath, but perhaps that was due to the fact he had just ran so far. Rolling onto his back, Midori looked at the sky. It was somewhat light, still, stars just beginning to appear as bubbles filled the air, drifting across the water and floating into the sky. The Krabby that blew them would soon be calling it a night. They did this every day, weather permitting, just as the sun was setting. Although everyone in Treasure Town agreed it was an amazing sight. Midori was the only one who normally had time to come out here every night. He had no family, he had no shop, he wasn't in the guild. There was nothing else to do.

Gradually, the bubbles stopped, popping and drifting beyond sight. The Krabbies had gone rather long tonight, Midori thought. Perhaps to make up for yesterday? They only came out when the weather was nice, and last night… It certainly hadn't been. The storm was complete with harsh rain, crashing waves, thunder, and lightning. Everyone in Treasure Town had been horrified, confining themselves to the warmth of their homes until the storm ended.

Midori slipped the fragment back into its pouch, climbing to his feet. He wasn't quite ready to go home yet, but was getting tired of just laying there now that the bubbles had stopped… Maybe he would go for a walk.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE: THE INTRODUCTION**

The walk Midori had decided to take was rather slow. The Treecko took his time, seeing no reason to hurry up. The weather was nice, after all, and there was no where he had to be after chickening out at the Guild again. He even paused to dig his toes into the slightly damp (as he was still walking closer to the waves) sand, staring at his feet. His Relic Fragment… The stone was his good luck charm. He had been thinking the other night, and decided that bringing it to the guild might bring him the bravery he needed, along with motivation, and he'd finally be able to suck it up and join. Apparently not, though, he thought with a small sigh, looking out across the water sadly. He was about to turn around and go home, but just as he was doing so, he saw a small figure laying unconscious near a rock.

The grass-type pokemon's eyes widened in shock, a gasp escaping his lips. Midori hurried over, bending down next to the other pokemon. The pale light from the moon and the stars made it possible to tell that it was a Pikachu, and by its size he figured it was a female. She wasn't moving, and her fur was soaked, glued to her body by water. How had she gotten here? He looked out at the ocean, once more, then back at her. Perhaps she had been near the water somewhere else, and got caught in the storm? No… would the storm have affected anywhere else? And wouldn't she be dead? That made no sense.

"Hey… Hey! Wake up, come on." Midori gasped, shaking the electric mouse gently. No reaction, and he was too nervous to shake her much harder. What if she was hurt and he made it worse? She was breathing, so he relaxed slightly. She was at least alive… Hopefully it stayed that way.

Swallowing, he dragged her further up on the beach so that the waves stopped lapping at her side, not seeing any way this would help. It seemed like the polite thing to do, though. He then sat next to her, reaching out and poking her gently. Still no response. Crap, crap, what if she died? Although, she didn't seem to be too injured… He poked her again, harder this time and this time it was met by a strangled cough, which hardly relieved him. In fact, he winced, gasping. A cough? But then again, what had he expected her to do, leap up and burst into dance? Grasping her shoulders again, he shook her once more. "Come on, wake up!"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Nikki had no idea what had happened. First thing she knew, she was…. Wait, what had she been doing? And where was she? Something was poking and shaking her. It was rather annoying. Why couldn't it just let her sleep? She was sleeping… Or was she unconscious? Opening her eyes slowly and coughing again, water coming out of her mouth and wetting the sand, she frowned, staring up at a Treecko. Hey… He seemed familiar. A Treecko… Yes, she had seen a Treecko before, that was for sure. Where had it been, though? Looking into his eyes, she had a feeling this wasn't the same one. This one seemed more worried, not as calm… Was the other Treecko calm? She shook her head to clear it, sitting up slowly. She was somewhat sore, but after a moment decided she wasn't greatly injured.

The Treecko seemed relieved that she was awake. "Hey!" He said, poking her a third time and blinking when he realized that it wasn't necessary again. She glared at him slightly. "Oh, sorry. Uh, uh. Are you okay?" At first, Nicole saw nothing odd about this. But… Wait. Pokemon weren't supposed to talk, were they? Or, were they? Pokemon… Talk. For some reason, she couldn't decide whether that was logical or not. Something about it seemed familiar, much like the Treecko, but at the same time… She closed her eyes tightly, head starting to hurt.

"Y…yeah." She decided it was logical. At least, it was happening, so it should be? Or she was dreaming. Either way, though. "I think I'm fine, but..." She looked down at herself to check for cuts or other injuries, and her eyes widened in shock, a startled cry escaping her lips. She was yellow. And furry. Looking next to her, she saw… A tail. What the hell? Was it HER tail? "I'M A POKEMON." She cried in surprise, diving to her feet and running to the water to look at her reflection. What the hell. What the hell. Green eyes were the only thing that stayed the same about her appearance- other than that, she was a Pikachu.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Midori sighed with relief when the Pikachu said she was okay. He'd have felt guilty if she was hurt, even if it wasn't his fault. He jumped in surprise, stumbling back when she cried out and wincing at the scream before echoing it with his own. Heart racing, he took a second to calm down. "Y-yeah… You're… a pokemon? Is that okay? Did you hit your head?" He asked, frowning in concern and confusion. Of course she was a pokemon. What else was she supposed to be? He watched her hurry towards the water, blinking in surprise. Wow, she was fast… Faster than him, even.

The Treecko sighed, looking up towards the sky. Stars stared back down at him, offering no answers. The full moon was slowly getting higher, a sign that it was getting later, and he was starting to feel tired. It had been a rather long day, and nothing was going well. His Relic Fragment hadn't given him the bravery to join the guild. Then he had just wanted to take a walk, and had run into a soaking, and possibly quite insane Pikachu. He jogged over to the water and looked back at her.

He should probably at least hear what she had to say before judging her, though, he decided. He wouldn't want to be called insane without having been heard through first, but… He had always heard about how important first impressions were, even though he had never really understood until now, and his first impression of this Pokemon was that she had lost her mind. He would help her, though, because he felt as if she needed to be helped…

-x-x-x-x-x-

Nicole sighed in annoyance and frustration. This Treecko was annoying her. She thought briefly that the other Treecko hadn't been so annoying, but the thought was forgotten just as quickly. "No, I didn't hit my head." She said, feeling around it just to make sure. Crap. She had ears. But her head had no bump on it, no other sign of injury that would make her lose her memory. What was wrong, then?! She knew she had been a human- briefly remembered another Treecko, something evil, but couldn't hold a thought long enough for it to completely form. She stared at the Treecko. How did he look so familiar? Except for his eyes… She knew a Treecko. She had established that. But when and where were driving her mad. "No, it's not okay, because I'm not a pokemon. I'm a human." She stated flatly. Was she making any sense? No. Probably not. But it was the truth. She stared back at the water before splashing some in her face. That just made her wetter.

She had no idea what had happened, where she came from, or where she was- besides that she was on a beach, - and why the hell did the Treecko seem so familiar? Climbing to her feet, and sighing with frustration, she scooted away slightly as to not get him as wet and shook off in an attempt to get somewhat drier. It didn't really help. Her fur was matted to her body and tangled, eyes agitated as if she had been swimming or crying. "Well," he spoke, interrupting her thoughts, "you don't seem to be an evil pokemon, at least." With those words she froze and he shuddered. "But you look just like a normal Pikachu, not a human…"

An evil pokemon? Evil pokemon… Something about those words horrified her. Nikki gasped, scooting a few feet further away and swallowing. She had no idea why, but… When he said that, it had felt like her blood turned to ice. "I know I do." She said, whining slightly. "But I am a human! Or… was a human? Come on, you've got to believe me." She said, trying to shake off the feeling of dread and wondering why she was so desperate for this other pokemon to believe her. Perhaps he could help? "And… I need to do something… I think I need to do something…"

-x-x-x-x-x-

Midori stared at the Pikachu critically for a long few moments. Wow, she really did seem insane. A human? That didn't make any sense. Granted, Midori had never seen a human, and Pikachu were rare around there. But he was rather sure what a Pikachu looked like, and doubted a human looked like a Pikachu, so, therefore, she couldn't be one. And what did she have to do? "A human…?" He muttered quietly, near-silent voice filled with doubt that made the female Pokemon cringe and sigh.

Noticing that his mention of her being a bad pokemon had freaked her out, he shook his head quickly in surprise. "Uh, oh, no! I said you're not a bad pokemon! Not… I mean… It's okay!" He said quickly, relaxing once more when she started talking again. He sighed, looking at her. She didn't look like a human. But she seemed desperate, frustrated, and confused, and he couldn't figure out why she would lie. "Okay, fine. Maybe you were. What's your name, anyway? Do you remember?" He asked.

Oh, wait, he was being rude, wasn't he? Midori didn't seem to realize he had been slightly rude the whole conversation. He normally tried to be nice. "Uh, first, I'm Midori Nash. Nice to meet you, I suppose." He said, smiling weakly. "Uh, by 'I suppose' I don't mean it's not nice to meet you, I just mean… Uhm…" Raising a hand to his mouth, the Treecko suppressed a yawn. Wow, he was starting to get tired. Looking up at the sky, he tried to calculate the time using the moons position. Well, that didn't go well, but he knew it was starting to get really late. He should go home soon, he decided, wondering whether this Pikachu had a place to stay. He didn't want her to have to sleep outside…

-x-x-x-x-x-

Nicole sighed, sitting down again. She looked herself over. She was yellow, she had a tail… And her skin- no, wait, fur- was wet, tangled, matted and covered with sand. Well, that was great. Her gaze returned to Midori as he spoke again and she laughed slightly at his panic. He was really nervous, wasn't he? She wasn't sure why those words had freaked her out, but she was okay now. Nothing to be too concerned over, she decided, pretending she didn't still feel sort of freaked out.

"My name?" She repeated, staring blankly at Midori. "My name… is… uh…" She frowned thoughtfully, staring past Midori into space. Crap, she had forgotten her name? Name, name… Several things crept into her brain and left before she knew what she was and she sighed in annoyance. Her head hurt… Then she remembered, and let out a slight sigh of relief. That was progress, wasn't it? "My name is Nicole Warren, but you can call me Nikki." She smile slightly, then chuckled again. "Nice to meet me? I look like crap and I'm acting like a lunatic." With that she grinned, laughing maniacally for extra damage. Midori looked horrified. "Nice to meet you, though, too, Midori." His words hadn't really bother her, but she chuckled anyway. "I guess." She added jokingly.

The Pikachu started brushing at her fur in an attempt to get the sand off. It didn't really work, the grainy bits clinging stubbornly to the yellow pelt. Sighing, she gave up, then frowned. Had she just heard something? Nikki turned around, only to see a Koffing and Zubat zooming at them full-speed. She staggered out of the way, shouting out in surprise when the two pokemon rammed into Midori.


	4. Chapter 4

Nikki stumbled back, falling into the cool sand and watching Midori go flying and land next to her. He slowly sat up, dazed, and looked at the pokemon who had run into him. The Zubat had scooped something up. It was a small cloth pouch. Nikki stared at it. Had it been there a moment ago…? The Zubat smirked at Midori, who was rubbing his head.

"Owww." The Treecko moaned, blinking at the bat-like pokemon. "Oh, I must of dropped that," he gasped, climbing to his feet.. Nikki also climbed to her feet- or rather paws now, and glanced towards the ocean for a second, gaping. Had it always been so beautiful? She realized she had never seen anything like it- of course, that might just be her memories messing up on her but for a split second she was sure it was gray, unmoving… She shuddered, looking back to Midori.

The Zubat grinned. "Oh, did you now?" He reached out as if to hand it to Midori, a challenging smirk on his face, but the Treecko's paw closed on air as the bat-like pokemon suddenly zoomed past him, flying off at full speed. The Koffing laughed stupidly and quickly floated after his companion..

Nikki frowned, eyes wide. What just happened? She hated thieves like that- but didn't even know what they had taken. She turned to glare at them as they darted off into a cage, spitting on the ground. "Assh-", she started, a whimper behind her causing her to trail off. She turned towards Midori to see the Treecko in near tears, his hand still held out to take the pouch and shaking. "Midori? What's wrong?" She asked cautiously.

The question had barely escaped her lips when Midori explained after taking a deep breath to steady his voice, which still shook slightly. "That was my most precious treasure! They t-took it…" His eyes widened as he looked at Nikki, and he smiled weakly. The forced smile brought back another memory for a fraction of a second, but Nikki shook her head, shaking the feeling off. "Will you help me get it back? Please?" He begged, staring at her desperately.

Nikki nearly fell over. She just met this pokemon, and now he was asking her to help him get his stone… treasure… thing. Okay, calm down. She thought, inhaling. It's not like this is a date or anything. She exhaled now, then nodded. "Sure, I'll help you, Mido." She said after a minute. There were more pressing matters- getting herself cleaned up, getting her memory back- but how long could it take to chase a could thugs and steal a stonetreasurething?

Midori blinked. "Mido…?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow. Nikki frowned, blinking. Okay, that nickname didn't work, huh? Oh well. Midori shrugged it off and leapt, flying at her. She cried out in surprise, staggering back slightly and falling to the sand. He landed on top of her with his arms tightly around her, barely allowing her precious air. The Treecko was laughing happily while Nikki's eyes bulged out of her head. "Thank you, Nikki!" He said, finally releasing her and allowing her to catch her breath- for about two seconds. "Come on, we should hurry." He grabbed her paw, dragging the Pikachu across the beach towards the cave.

Nikki struggled to keep up with Midori, still gasping for breath, as he dragged her across the sand. He hesitated before the cave, though, giving her a chance to catch her breath and balance. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, stepping up next to him and frowning at the Treecko. He was trembling. Nicole directed her attention to the cave. She could hear a steady dripping of water, which for some reason made her hair stand up on the back of her neck and her heart skip a beat. It's a CAVE, she told herself. Of course there's going to be water. The dreariness and grayness of the cave, though… Somehow sound and movement didn't seem to belong. Swallowing and shaking herself off, deciding that made no sense, she smiled at Midori. "Come on, lets go!"

"Eh?" Midori turned to look at Nikki, staring at her for a moment before grinning and nodding. "Right." He took a deep breath, trembling becoming much less noticeable, and carefully stepped into the cave. Nikki frowned after him before nodding to herself and following.

After a couple of minutes of wandering around in the pitch blackness they found they had to pause to let their eyes adjust to the light. Nikki felt Midori shivering next to her, and wondered whether it was from the cold, moist air, or from fear as he had been outside the cave. She wasn't much better off, to be honest. Once her eyes adjusted, though, she saw a determined look on his face and grinned slightly. If he could be brave, so could she. They carried on, keeping close together and moving carefully.

For a while they had no problems, but then Nikki yelped as she was soaked. Not from a small water drip from the ceiling, but from a Shellder glaring at her madly, eyes somewhat red and large tongue lolling about in it's mouth as it advanced, getting close enough for Nikki to hear gurgling noises. "What's wrong with…?" She started with a gasp, stumbling back in surprise.

Midori appeared frozen for a moment before shaking his head, leaping towards the Shellder. He twisted in mid-air, slamming his tail on it, and Nikki could only stare for a long moment as he growled at the poor pokemon, which had bitten it's tongue in the attack, gurgling noises now sounding pained as it moved back for a moment.

Once recovering, the Shellder responded by slamming itself into Midori, who stumbled back with a grunt, falling to the floor. Realizing she should probably help, but having no idea what to do, she glared at the Shellder, gasping. Somehow she managed to make electricity build up in her cheeks, sparking around her face. Concentrating, she managed to shoot the electricity at the Shellder. The attack sent the stunned pokemon stumbling back even further before turning and fleeing.. The Pikachu and the Treecko, both panting, looked at each other, Nikki's eyes wide with shock and remorse, Midori's eyes wide with fear and surprise.

"What was wrong with it?" Nikki finally finished the question, swallowing. She felt rather guilty for hurting the pokemon, but decided it had had to be done. They couldn't just let themselves get attacked, after all. Midori glanced after it for a moment, frowning and sighing.

"It's gone crazy, I suppose… Most of the wild pokemon have. It has to do with time… Something's messing up. I'm not really sure." He answered, also feeling guilty. He shook his head, looking at the ground.

Nikki froze, staring at him in shock, eyes widening, pace speeding up, mouth going dry. Time was messing up? "WELL, SHIT!" … She hadn't meant to say that out loud, and now Midori was staring at her in shock and she winced. But time was messing up… There was something about that that horrified her, but she couldn't figure it out. "Well, aren't you worried?! Time is messing up! We should try to do something, it's probably… uh… Uh… Nevermind," she muttered, realizing she had no idea what she was saying. She sighed, voice quiet as she added, "lets just keep going."

It got colder the further they got from the cave, and both of them nearly slipped on the wet floor more than once, shivering and stumbling with exhaustion. Nikki briefly wondered what time it was. They neared the end of the cave and paused, holding their breath. Laughing could be heard from ahead, and once they got slightly closer they saw the Koffing, the Zubat, and Midori's stone, pouch carelessly tossed aside. Finally!


	5. Chapter 5

Midori stared at the two, feeling a mixture of anger and fear grow inside him. They had taken his Relic Fragment! But would he be able to get it back…? He didn't think he'd be able to confront them… He clenched his fists, and the next thing he knew, he was stumbling forward. He froze for a moment before glaring over his shoulder at Nikki. The Pikachu was grinning innocently, hands behind her back as if saying, "Look, I COULDN'T have shoved you!" He rolled his eyes.

Sighing, he looked back at the two thieves. "Uh… Hey!" He shouted, glaring at them and trying to look brave. He took a few steps closer. "I… I want my relic fragment back!" Nikki behind him blinked. Oh, it was a relic fragment, not a stonetreasurething. Oh well. Relic Fragment seemed more official, anyway. She would miss her stonetreasurething, though. "That's my personal treasure, and… I demand you give it back to me!" He said, swallowing. Nikki nodded encouragingly, realizing afterwards that Midori wouldn't have been able to see her and shrugging to herself.

The Zubat smirked at him, grinning slightly and fluttering his wings. "Treasure, eh? Maybe it's more valuable than we thought." He drawled with a stupid laugh, jabbing Koffing, who replied with a sneer and a snort. Midori glared at them, stepping forward.

"Hey, it's MINE! You- you need to give it back!" He snarled, hands shaking slightly. Nikki stepped up to his side now, glaring at the pokemon who had stolen the stone- er, Relic, the red pouches on her cheeks sparking slightly in a threat.

"Trying to act tough? How tough are you, scardy cat?" The Zubat smirked, and he fluttered closer, the Koffing following. "We saw you run away from the guild. Chicken!" He snarled, and Koffing and Zubat started to float around them, chanting. "Chicken! Chicken!"

Nikki gasped in anger, closing her eyes and sending a Thundershock attack at the Zubat. Electricity coursed through her wet body afterwards, but it wasn't painful, she noted in surprise. It was actually somewhat pleasant, warming her up a bit in the coldness of the cave. The Zubat was hit and fell to the ground, not having expected the attack. He quickly climbed to his feet, though, glaring at Nikki and using SuperSonic. Nikki staggered when the attack hit her, blinking in shock. Woah, what the hell. Why were there six Zubats and Koffings? Midori had quadrupled in size, and she couldn't feel her legs. Blinking, she fell to the ground.

"Nikki!" Midori exclaimed, looking over at her in concern. She was spluttering uselessly and giggling, feet and hands flailing as if she was trying to attack. After a moment, she slapped herself, crying out in surprise. He gasped as Koffing flung itself at him, using a Tackle that he could barely avoid, having not been paying attention. Growling, he spun around, slamming his tail into Koffing, who flew in circles until it rammed into a rock and slid to the ground, wheezing. Well… That was easy, he thought with a surprised grin.

Nikki climbed to her feet once she felt her legs again. The Koffings had vanished, but there were still two Zubats stacked on top of each other. She stumbled towards them, trying vainly to slap one of them. This resulted in her slapping herself again and falling to the floor, spluttering. Midori cried out in surprise before slamming his tail into Zubat. After a long moment, though, Nikki finally seemed to regain herself and sent a Thundershock at Zubat before he had recovered from the pound. He staggered back, and fell into Koffing.

Nikki and Midori glaring at them, Nikki's cheeks still sparking, the Zubat and Koffing swallowed and exchanged glances. Nodding at each other, they sped away, trying to get back out of the cave and away from their defeaters. Once they were out of sight, Midori bent down, scooping up his relic fragment while Nikki grinned. "Owned!" Midori raised an eyebrow at her as he slipped it into its pouch. He and Nikki were next to run out of the cave, and once outside Midori sighed with relief, grinned at her. Nikki returned the grin before turning to look at the sky, trying to get an idea of what time it was. The Pikachu gaped at the sunrise. She had certainly never seen anything like that. It was amazing, and the way it reflected on the water… All the colors… She could only stare until she realized Midori was talking to her.

"Hey, thank you for helping me get my relic fragment back." He started, looking at the pouch in his hand for a moment before draping it across his neck again. "I dunno what I would do without it. I found it a while ago, don't remember where, but it's my personal treasure." He explained, taking it out and showing it to Nikki. "Look, it has a strange pattern on it. I've never seen anything like it before," he slipped it back into it's pouch after allowing her to examine it. "I think it must have come from something bigger. That's why it's my dream to figure out where it came from! And I also want to make other great discoveries, and maybe become famous, and find out what happened in the past!" His eyes sparkling, he looked at Nikki, suddenly realizing something and clearing his throat.

Nikki had made him feel confident. More than the relic fragment, with Nikki by his side he was able to continue through the cave, to challenge Koffing and Zubat and get his Relic back. He looked at the Pikachu, tilting his head. Maybe if she was with him, he'd be able to… It couldn't hurt to ask, could it? After all, he didn't think she had anywhere to go, if she didn't have any memories. He shifted nervously before speaking. "Hey, Nikki… Would you like to form an Exploration Team with me? We could join Wigglytuff's guild to train- it'd be great!" He said, hoping he sounded more convincing than nervous. He watched her hopefully.

Nikki stared at him in shock. She was just getting recruited out of the blue! But then again, she realized that she didn't have anywhere to go. She had to work on regaining her memories, and she did still have this feeling she had something to do, someone to help, but… She smiled at the Treecko. Midori seemed like a fine pokemon to work on that with and try to figure things out. She trusted him, for some strange reason, even if they hardly knew each other. What did she have to lose, after all? "Sure, Midori. I'll join you," she said, laughing as Midori glomped her again, hugging her tightly and shouting his thanks.

"We probably should wait til tomorrow to join, though." Nikki said slowly, looking at the sunrise again. "Or rather, today… But the tomorrow part of today… Since today is technically yesterday-" Nikki trailed off, noticing with annoyance that Midori was already asleep, laying on top of her and snoring softly. She rolled to her side and he rolled off of her and onto the sand, shifting slightly but still snoring.

Sighing, the Pikachu closed her eyes. She was tired, and it was late- or rather, early, but… She shook her head to stop herself from rambling in her mind. Anyway, tomorrow she could try to remember things, and tomorrow she would join an Exploration Team with Midori Nash.

She found herself looking forward to it.


	6. Chapter 6

Warning: This chapter contains cursing and implied dirtiness.

Fangs bared, the creature leapt at Nikki, who screamed in horror, closing her eyes tightly. "OH FUCK, THE MONGOOSE IS GOING TO EAT ME." No, no, she didn't want to die! Her eyes opened again now, and she realized she was still laying on the beach, and sometime in the night Midori had draped himself over her so that his feet were on the ground to one side of her, his head on the ground to the other. She didn't really mind, she decided. He was sort of like a blanket. "Portable blanket. Keep me warm~" she chirped, remembering the mongoose and scurrying away from him. He jumped at the scream when she woke up, (oh, had that been outloud? Oops.) quickly waking up when he fell onto the ground and letting out a scream of his own, looking around frantically.

"Crap, Midori, look out, there's a rabid-" she trailed off and looked around. After a moment of not seeing the mongoose, she frowned and giggled nervously. "Uhm, wait. Maybe not. Never mind, false alarm." She grinned, rubbing the back of her neck. It was actually much easier said than done. She had never realized that Pikachu's had such short arms. That was weird… Oh well. Midori was now sitting in front of her and frowned, staring at her in confusion. Perhaps Nikki had hit her head after all…

Nikki shrugged, climbing to her feet and bouncing slightly to try and wake up. "Oh, we were gonna make an Exploration team today, weren't we?" She asked brightly, grinning. "Or uh, join… make… join make one thing." She decided with a nod. "Anyway! Let's go, then." She started to lead the way, realized she had no idea where to go, paused for a moment, then turned around.

Midori smirked at Nikki. Nah, he decided. She didn't hit her head- she was just crazy. He decided that he didn't mind. Everyone needed some crazy in their life to stay sane, didn't they? Remembering about the exploration team, though, he perked up, grinning. "Right, this way!" He exclaimed, climbing to his feet. He double checked he had his relic fragment before towards Wigglytuff's Guild. Nikki noticed with disappointment that it was in the opposite way she had been going, but oh well. It wouldn't be in the ocean, she supposed.

Nikki followed him, keeping up with ease. Past the beach, past a busy town, up a large flight of steps (Pokemon had steps? Interesting…), and finally the two stopped in front of the guild. It was a large, pink building. She stared at it for a moment before snorted softly. "Wonder what HE'S compensating for." She smirked, nudging Midori in the ribs suggestively. The Treecko stumbled, blinked cluelessly, then stared in shock at Nikki. Had she honestly just said…?! A blush crept onto his face and he shook his head. "What??"

Nikki stared at him for a moment, trying to decide whether that was a serious question or he was just surprised. "Well, you see, 'Dori, a man like yourself-" she started matter-of-factly.

She was interrupted by the Treecko, though, who took his chance to change the subject of what would become a very awkward conversation. "Did you just call me… Dori?" Nikki slapped her forehead. Midori wasn't big on nick names, was he? Oh well. She'd make something stick. Hehe, stick. Because Treeckos could stick to stuff, sort of. It was punny. Ish. Maybe. No.

"Oh well," she sighed. "Lets go." Blinking, she turned back towards the guild, examining it. The door was blocked by a gate, and a metal grate sat in front of it. This seemed to horrify Midori. Remembering what happened last time, he gave his pouch to Nikki to hold and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and stepping forward.

"POKEMON DETECTED! POKEMON DETECTED!"

"WHOSE FOOTPRINT? WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

"THE FOOTPRINT IS TREECKO'S! THE FOOTPRINT IS TREECKO'S!"

Midori gasped, leaping off the grate once they stopped talking. His heart was hammering, and Nikki noticed his hands were shaking again. She handed the pouch back to him and patted his head in an attempt to comfort him. "Hey, at least they didn't tickle your feet."

"YOU HAVE SOMEONE ELSE WITH YOU. GET THEM TO STAND ON THE GRATE."

Midori looked at Nikki. "I-I think he means you." Nikki nodded, but hesitated, raising an eyebrow at the grate. Well, alright. She blinked, poking it before shrugging and stepping onto it. After seeing what happened with Midori, the voices that yelled at her didn't startle her.

"POKEMON DETECTED! POKEMON DETECTED!"

"WHOSE FOOTPRINT? WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

"THE FOOTPRINT IS…? THE FOOTPRINT IS…" Wait, he didn't know? She rasied an eyebrow, wiggling her foot as if thinking it might help. "MAYBE PIKACHU'S! MAYBE PIKACHUS'!" He decided finally.

"…Maybe?" The second voice repeated, along with her own.

"Well, Pikachu's aren't too common among these parts…"

Nikki frowned, staring down the grate. Uh, were they arguing. She dropped to her hands and knees to listen better, calling down into the darkness, "… Excuse… me?" She glared down, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Yes, well it's your JOB to know pokemons footprints, isn't it, Sentry Diglet?" Ah, they were ignoring her. No fun.

"Yeah, but… I dunno what I dunno." This was somewhat muttered, only heard because of how close she was to the grate.

Nikki frowned. "Uhm, excuse me?!" She shouted louder, and she heard an odd shuffling.

"Sorry about that, but he's right. Pikachu aren't common here. At any rate, you don't seem bad, so…" Dang, those words again. Don't seem bad. She winced. "That's cuz I'm NOT!" She snapped under her breath, climbing to her feet again.

More shuffling, and then the gate slid down, allowing them entrance. Nikki exchanged a glance with Midori, then shrugged again, cautiously entering the building. The Treecko swallowed and followed her. There were groups of pokemon sitting together, chatting happily. Midori looked around, grinning. "Wow! Look at all these exploration teams!" He gasped, pointing as if it was hard to see them.

Nikki laughed, nodding. "Come on, lets go find out how to join." She stated, looking around. She led the way to a golden colored ladder. "That is so fake." She muttered, flicking it. It made a DONG noise. Oh well. She carefully gripped the latter. The Pikachu lowered herself to the next level, looking around There was more happy pokemon here, along with a hall to her left and right and a door to her right. To her left and right were two notice boards with notes attached to them, but she didn't get a chance to read them before Midori pointed towards the window.

"Wow, look! You can see outside, even though we're underground!" He gasped in shock. "How did they do that?!" He asked, hurrying over and looking outside in awe.

"… We're on a cliff, you moron," Nikki laughed, shaking her head. Wow, Midori wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, was he? … Wait. That's not how the saying goes, is it? Nikki decided it wasn't important.

Before Midori, who looked slightly dejected, could answer, a voice spoke behind them, high-pitched and somewhat fake-bad-ass. "Excuse me, we're not interested in whatever you have to sell." Nikki turned around, blinking at a Chatot who was glaring at them. She raised an eyebrow. He was half her size- was he trying to intimidate her? She barely held back a laugh.

Midori was the one to answer, which was probably fortunate. He shook his head. "Oh, no, sir! We're not selling anything." He explained. "We want to form an exploration team!" His shaking head started nodding enthusiastically, and it made Nikki rather dizzy. He couldn't keep still for two seconds, could he? Reaching out, she grabbed his head, which immediately stopped moving. A confused expression came over his face, and she grinned innocently.

"You…?" The chatot repeated, turning around and muttering to himself as if this would prevent Nikki and Midori from hearing him. "These kids want to form an exploration team? But don't they know how hard our training is? Many run away from it every day!"

Nikki frowned, starting to realize that this might not have been the best idea. For one thing, this bird was crazy, but she wasn't one to talk. For another… "Uh… Is the training really that hard?" She asked outloud, tilting her head. Midori looked horrified.

Chatot turned around, blinking in shock. They had heard him? Shaking his head frantically, he grinned, fluttering his wings. "Oh, no, no! I don't know what you mean. Our training is extremely easy! You'll love it!" He chirped enthusiastically. Nikki frowned, opening her mouth, but before she could say anything Chatot spoke again. "Come on, I'll take you to the Guildmaster." He hopped off, leading Nikki and Midori to the room Nikki had seen a few minutes ago and opening the door- which looked like the tuft of fur on top of a Wigglytuffs head. Hey…

Wigglytuff's guild- the building looked like a Wigglytuff- this door… Nikki came to the conclusion that this Wigglytuff fellow must be rather full of himself. She nodded firmly at the idea, following Chatot into the room. Her green gaze searched around before spotting the Guildmaster.

Wigglytuff was normal in appearance, however seemed stronger, somehow, than most. He was sitting on a small tuft of straw that she assumed was his bed and bouncing a giant, shining apple on his head. He grabbed it, taking a bite, and then seemed to notice his visitors. Finishing the apple in one bite, he grinned at them. "Hello, friendly friends! Chatot, what do our new friends want?" He asked, eyes glistening excitedly. He bounced excitedly. "Did they bring me perfect apples?!" He suggested.

Nikki then concluded that Wigglytuff had an extremely strong throat (which, she thought mischievously, could come in handy,) and his favorite word was "friend."

Chatot stood at attention. "Guildmaster Wigglytuff, sir!" He greeted. "These two are here to- er, no. I'll get you a perfect apple after this, though!" He added quickly, as Wigglytuff had started to whimper. "As I was saying, though, these two came to form an Exploration team." He explained.

Wigglytuff nodded, getting over the lack of apples and grinning. "That's great! Well, friends, what are your names?" He asked. Nikki realized he was still bouncing.

Suddenly remembering a joke, though, she stepped forward now. "Hey, Guildmaster, do you know how much a Walrein weighs?!" She started excitedly

Wigglytuff copied her grin, seeming beside himself with joy. "No, no! How much?" He asked almost too enthusiastically, and she stopped herself from raising an eyebrow.

"Enough to break the ice! I'm Nikki," she grinned, then pouted when nobody understood her joke, stepping back dejectedly, arms crossed at her chest and eyes on the ground.

Wigglytuff had no idea what she meant, but burst into laughter anyway. Because she was a friendly friend, right? And he was sure it was a funny joke! His laughing lasted nearly two minutes, and he didn't even seem to run out of breath. Nikki stared. Once he was done, Midori introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, friends! What will the name of your exploration team be?" He asked.

Midori and Nikki frowned. They hadn't thought about that. Midori made no attempt to answer, instead staring at Nikki expectantly, so she sighed. "Er… Team… Nikori?" She suggested randomly. Hey, it sounded okay, didn't it?

"YOOM-TAH!"

Nikki winced, stumbling back in surprise. That had probably been the loudest thing she ever heard. Her ears were still ringing. She opened her mouth to say not to get angry, if it wasn't a good name she could come up with something else and there was no need to yell at her, and the people here seemed rather yelly, maybe this was a bad idea, but Wigglytuff spoke first.. "Alright, it's official! You're an exploration team!" He cheered, hurrying forward to put a box in front of him. Nikki wondered where he got it, but decided it'd be a bad idea to ask if he pulled it out of his ass, since she liked hearing, thank you very much- and since she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question.

"That's your treasure box. You can take it on explorations. Inside are your exploration team badges." He said dancing on the spot. Nikki stared at him and Midori looked inside the treasure box.

"Alright, cool! Look, Nikki!" He said, handing her a badge. Nikki nodded. It was pretty cool looking, she decided, turning it over in her paws and examining it. "There's a bag in here, too. That'll be useful," he noted, slipping the pouch with his relic fragment into it. They both looked up as Chatot spoke.

"Alright, you two should go look around the guild and such. Then get some sleep, you'll need it for tomorrow." He ordered, shoving them out of the room. Once they were gone he turned to look at the Guildmaster and looked as if he wanted to say something. "Guildmaster Wigglytuff, sir?" He asked carefully.

The guild master, though, was asleep. His eyes were still open, but he was snoring loudly. Chatot spent a brief moment looking crushed, then shook himself off and hurried out of the room to keep an eye on everything.


	7. Chapter 7

Nikki blinked, looking around outside the Guildmaster's Chambers. Her ears twitched and she scratched her head thoughtfully. She could get why they could see outside even though they were underground, but she didn't understand how grass was growing. They were inside, right? Well, maybe since it was built into a cliff they were underground, not inside, but could grass even grow underground? Writing it off as some sciencey thing that didn't matter, she turned towards Midori. "So, what now?"

Midori had a twinkle in his eyes. "Exploration Team Nikori…" He muttered in awe before blinking and looking at Nicole. "Uh, what? Oh!" He stammered, a grin coming over the Treecko's face. "We start exploring, of course! C'mon!" With that he started for the ladder. He was trembling again, but Nikki wrote it off for excitement due to the mix of joy and determination in his eyes.

"Woah, wait! Aren't we supposed to like, train first? Plus it's our first day, we dunno where to go or what to do or anything. How about we hang around for a bit?" She suggested. Midori didn't stop, so she tugged at his arm and whined, "I DUN WANNA GOOO." She pouted desperately. She really wasn't ready to start exploring yet, and Chatot hadn't told them to, had they? She felt almost as if that'd be like breaking some guild rule or something.

Pausing, Midori turned towards Nikki with a sigh. "Alright, we don't have to go explore. But I'm to excited to just hang around!" He exclaimed, bouncing to prove his point. Nikki briefly thought that of course he was, but shook her head. He frowned thoughtfully, trying to figure out something to do. "Oh, hey, you haven't been here before have you? Or at least, if you have you might not remember it, so I could show you the town!" He decided, and with an accepting nod from his teammate he half-dragged her up the ladder and out of the guild.

Nikki hurried up to prevent herself from being dragged. She looked at him interestedly once they were outside, waiting for her tour to begin. He was right- if she was around here, although she had a feeling she wasn't, she didn't remember this place at all. "So, you know the Guild of course, and the beach- that's one of my favorite spots." He nodded down the path towards the beach. "It's really pretty when the sun is setting, Krabbies come out and blow bubbles. That way is to leave," he jerked his head to the left, "and the town's over here." He turned towards the right, Nikki following.

The town was rather large, a small stream running in the middle with a bridge over it. Out in the distance she could see a cliff, but no pokemon were near it. "This is the town," Midori grinned. "That's the bank, Duskull takes great care of your money. You can link moves over there at the yellow shop, but the shopkeeper doesn't seem to be here… Then past the bridge is the Kecleon market, the green Kecleon brother sells random goods like food and the blue one sells orbs and TMs. And then there's storage, where Aunty Kangaskhan takes care of any items you don't want to lose in dungeons." He signaled to each shop as he spoke, and they got to the bridge. He seemed happy with his guiding.

"Wow," Nikki said, looking around and trying to remember everything. She looked down at the water, and wondered suddenly how deep it was, a mischievous grin coming across her face. "Hey, Do- Midori?" she corrected herself, remembering the Treecko's dislike for nicknames.

"Hm?"

"Do you like to swim?" Before he had a chance to answer, Nikki tackled him and the two toppled into the water, laughing like a maniac. Just as she had thought, it wasn't very deep, but Midori still spluttered. He must have swallowed some when they splashed. She laughed even harder, rolling next to him onto her back and starting to flail her arms and legs.

Midori winced, holding up his arms to stop Nikki from splashing him and laughing along with her. "What're you doing?" He asked, watching her flail and giggle insanely.

"Water angels!" She exclaimed, stopping and sitting up, shaking her head roughly in an attempt to dry it slightly and splashing Midori even more. She looking at her work- or where it would be. "Uh, guess it's not too permanent." She said, pouting. "Oh well. If we had a freeze gun, we could make snow angels. Or would that make ice…?"

Midori smirked. "Smooth." He said sarcastically, earning himself a playful glare. "Come on, though, I'm not done showing you around!" He got up, shaking water off his scales and grabbing Nikki. The two soaking pokemon made their way towards the cliff, and once there he looked out over the water for a moment.

"It's a nice view," Nikki acknowledged with a nod, staring at the setting sun, bubbles floating into the distance most likely made by the Krabby below. "It that what you wanted to show me?"

"Oh, no!" Midori said, shaking his head. He hurried towards a bush, grabbed the bottom, and pushed it up, revealing a hole. "Go ahead," he said, nodding towards it. Frowning nervously, Nikki lowered herself down. It wasn't a long fall, just far enough for the bush to touch the top of Midori's head. "This is where I live," he said with a grin. "Or used to live… I guess I'll be sleeping at the guild now." He padded over to a gap in the cave-like-place. "I like it here. You can see the sky." He said with a nod. He'd never shown this place to anyone else, but he'd never really had anyone to show it to.

Nikki looked around. He lived alone? What about a family? That was a personal matter, though, no question for her to ask when she'd just met him. "Yeah, it's nice here." She agreed, looking out. The sun was low on the horizon, the sky darkening. "We should head back though," she added, not wanting to get too memorized by the view. "The sunsets here…" She muttered quietly, staring. "They're nice."

Midori nodded to both of her comments, and the two pokemon headed back towards the guild. "Y'know, Dori," Nikki started, not even realizing she used the nickname, "even though we didn't go out and make amazing discoveries, we sorta already did start exploring." The Treecko and Pikachu exchanged grins.

Nikki stared at the sky as she absently followed Midori back towards the guild. She stared at a star, one of the first of the night. _Even though I don't have my memories, I like it here. Midori's nice, and I'm glad we formed an exploration team._


End file.
